My last year as a Madison Dodger has suddenly began to end. It feels like just last week I was lost walking through the halls, accidentally going to a study hall rather than gym on straight 8 days, and drowning in junior/freshman physics homework. However, in just five short weeks I will be walking down and across Ted Monica field dressed in cap and gown with my fellow classmates. It’s a strange feeling knowing my class will no longer be “my class” as we travel across the country next year pursuing our dreams in the next chapter of our lives: college. Doctors, politicians, actors, artists, news anchors, writers, dreamers: just a few of my classmates’ aspirations. The Madison High School Class of 2016 is a diverse combination of students who I believe are ready for their next step.

 

Last week our first senior tradition kicked off, a game that welcomes all. In this game, each student is assigned a random person that they must eliminate. As this sounds competitive and somewhat mean, the game connects students that have never spoken during their four years here. Students are challenged with learning their target’s schedule in order to eliminate them. As students target their prey, laughing and shrieks naturally occur. The attitudes during this game represent honest, outgoing, and creative minds.

 

Thoughts of a second semester senior range from “hell yeah” to “I’m nervous”. The “hell yeah” to move on to bigger and better things, get away from the rotating block schedule, and have more freedom on a college campus. The “I’m nervous” for the move away from home and familiarity, the starting all over again at the bottom of the food chain, and the challenges that come with adulthood.

 

As my friends pick out their freshman roommate or their dorm design, I’ve come to realize this may be goodbye for some. People change in college, but not in a bad way, in a good, different way. As the fourth child with three above me who have had the college experience, I have first hand witness the changes that college brings. All the sudden my brother came home with facial hair, my sister with a whole new vocabulary without dropping the word “like” every sentence. They matured, and they found their new niches. College challenges you to be your own person, and gives you the ability to form yourself due to the endless amounts of opportunities college provides. I hope to see changes in many of my classmates: the kind that allows them to express themselves more than they ever could have in high school.
Congratulations to my fellow classmates, in these next five weeks I hope we all take a step back to realize how lucky we were to spend our high school years in Madison, New Jersey. Our amazing teachers, our kind principal, and our most favorite, senior privilege. They say college flies by, and we know this is true with high school, so just keep that in mind for your next four years. Before you know it, you’ll be receiving your degree on graduation day, and moving into a grownup life.